


Vaterdämmerung

by wordbending



Series: Undyne Appreciation Week [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Undyne appreciation week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-12-02 21:52:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11518221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordbending/pseuds/wordbending
Summary: Undyne and Asgore have a disagreement.Day One ofUndyne Appreciation Week: young Undyne.





	Vaterdämmerung

There he was. Her target. Completely unaware of her, busy talking to a family of Snowdrakes, which meant she had the element of surprise.

She readied herself into what she thought of as a battle stance, crouched down on all fours, eyes narrowed, biting her lip, unconsiously wiggling every part of her body but her head left and right - nothing could keep her from her prey.

“NNNNNGGAAAAAAHHHHHHH!” she screamed before breaking into a run, as fast as her small blue legs could carry her. Mid-run, she ducked into a crouch, before, like a spring, she rocketed off the ground, higher and higher, flying past purple robes and all the way to the back of her target’s head. She concentrated, allowing the magic that made up her body flow through her and out of her, until a glowing blue spear the width and length of one of her skinny blue forearms formed in one hand.

She brought it down on the back of his head. It was an absolutely perfect strike, and he hadn’t even so much as turned around to look at her. She had him. She’d won.

She expected the spear to slam into the back of her targer’s furry neck. Instead, he simply, slowly, leaned his head out of the way of her strike, so that the spear only struck air. She didn’t get a moment to register her shock before he turned around slightly and two fingers of one enormous paw grabbed her by the neck of her black and red striped shirt, holding her in the air. Angrily, she screamed, squirming and kicking, but he didn’t budge an inch.

“Howdy,” rumbled Asgore, turning around the rest of the way and smiling. He put another paw underneath her and, gently, dropped her into it. “Have we met?”

The Snowdrakes were agape. They looked back and forth between Asgore and his attacker, but Undyne didn’t pay them any mind. She leaped to her feet, swinging her arm at him, one blue pointer finger waving in his face

“No!” she shouted. “But you’ll know my name soon enough, King Asgore! For I am Undyne, the strongest of all monsters!”

With another furious “NGGGGGAAAAAAH!”, she formed another spear and leaped at him, bouncing off his paw and at his face. He leaned back so that the spear - and Undyne with it - sailed over his nose, then raised his paw and caught her out of the air like a thrown ball.

“Oof,” she said into his paw, her voice muffled by fur.

“Well, you were right, I must say,” Asgore said, lowering her back in front of himself. “I did learn your name quite soon. After all, you just told me it.”

“Ugh! That’s not what I meant!” she yelled, her voice still muffled. She pulled herself out of his paw and got back to her feet, brushing white fur off her shorts. She pointed at him again. “You won’t just know it! You’ll respect it - when I defeat you in combat!”

She formed another spear. This time, instead of jumping at him, she ran up the length of one of his massive arms, like she was running up the side of a cliff. 

She kicked at his face, trying to catch him off guard, but somehow, impossibly, almost imperceptibly, he leaned his head to the right and she missed. When she swung the spear sideways at him, he ducked under his own arm, and the spear didn’t even as much as scratch his crown.

“ARGH! Come ON!”

“Well, I meant to say, ‘it’s a pleasure to meet you, Undyne,’ but unfortunately, you keep interrupting.”

“Stop talking and fight back, you coward!”

“Ah, well, in that case…”

She jumped off his arm and brought the spear down, two-handed, at his head. He caught her out of the air, again, before she could reach him. Again, even though he could just hold her there for the rest of eternity if he wanted to, he dropped her back down into his other paw, and she stood up and jumped at him once more, spear in hand.

“…I think this is a good opportunity for a valuable lesson.”

He dodged. She went for his chest on her next attempt, but he stepped aside. This time, he didn’t catch her out of the air - she couldn’t even see if he’d tried. Instead, she tucked herself into a ball and harmlessly rolled across the ground.

“You are indeed brave, but the true mark of courage in monsters isn’t fighting.”

“Shut up, old man!” she yelled, getting to her feet.

“You see, I am not much of a fighter. I do not believe in it.”

She went for his legs, swinging wildly, aimlessly. Again and again, almost like a dancer, he merely stepped out of the way, swinging his massive body as effortlessly as if it weighed nothing at all.

“If I can…”

Her shirt billowing around her as magic flowed in the air, she formed blue portals underneath Asgore’s feet. His eyes didn’t even widen as spears, uneven and crooked, shot out of them, and he leaped off the ground. When he landed, the snow on the ground exploded from the impact, covering the air in white mist, and the ground shook as if the entire Underground was on the verge of collapse.

He was smiling. He had never stopped smiling, not for a moment.

“I prefer never to fight at all. Doesn’t that sound better to you?”

Like it did every time she cast that spell, Undyne’s body shook. She grasped at one arm with her other one, her legs shaking, but she refused to let herself fall to one knee. Not in front of Asgore.

“No!” she said, glaring up at him. “And this is why I need to defeat you!”

Asgore raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“How will we ever escape if you don’t fight?!” she yelled. “We need to defeat the humans! We need to be strong! So we can win… and take back our home!”

She blinked. There were tears in her eyes, which embarassed her even more than how she’d completely failed to show how strong she was, but she wouldn’t dare wipe them away. She just had to hope he hadn’t noticed.

“Ah,” Asgore said. His voice had changed, just subtly enough that Undyne wouldn’t have caught it if he hadn’t glanced away at the same time - even just that one word sounded suddenly, strangely forlorn.

Asgore crouched down in front of her, although he was so tall it barely made a difference. He extended one massive paw out towards her, which she glared at.

“I apologize for not fighting you, Undyne,” he said. She huffed, crossing her arms. “I hadn’t realized what this meant to you.”

“Whatever. You just got lucky - I’ll win next time." 

She took a deep breath and turned away from him, walking unsteadily back towards Waterfall. The family of Snowdrakes, who had been watching the fight with their beaks hanging open the entire time, watched her as she started to walk away.

"Excuse me,” Asgore’s voice said. She stopped, but she didn’t turn towards him. “Do you want to know how to beat me?”

She turned her head back towards him, not sure if she’d heard him correctly. He merely smiled at her, with that gentle, sincere smile he always had, and she knew that he wasn’t pulling her leg or making fun of her.

Probably, anyway. She was still a little suspicious.

“For real?”

“…Yes. Ah, er, for real,” Asgore repeated, awkwardly.

“You’re gonna train me?!”

“I will.”

Her expression broke into a toothy grin, all sharp fangs.

“Hell yeah! I’d love to!”

* * *

Once, when Undyne had nearly collapsed from exhaustion, barely able to stand, Asgore had offered her something. It was a golden cup shaped like a lion, with some kind of brown liquid she’d never seen before in it. The liquid smelled something like perfume, but even more than that, it smelled like the flowers that filled the room that she and Asgore often trained in.

“Please, try it,” Asgore offered, smiling. She narrowed her eyes at him. It wasn’t like Asgore to poison somebody to get the upper hand in battle. It wasn’t like he’d need to do something like that anyway, since in the past few months, she hadn’t landed a single blow on him, not even once.

“Don’t be afraid of it. It is only tea.”

And mentioning being afraid was more than enough for Undyne. She snatched the cup out of his hand and downed the entire thing in a single gulp.

Immediately, she spit it into his face, covering it in tea. It dripped off his beard, which might have made her laugh, if she wasn’t busy making 'bleh’ sounds and spitting the rest of it onto the ground.

“…Well,” Asgore said, blinking. “I suppose it isn’t for everyone.”

“Never - ” Spit. “Never - ” Spit. “Ever - ” Spit. “Give me that - ” Spit. “Again!”

* * *

Undyne had gotten a lot taller, a lot lankier - from a short, hyperactive half-pint to a tall, hyperactive weed. She’d abandoned the striped shirt for a tank top, which showed off, in spite of her long, thin arms, the growing definition of her muscles. Her baby fat had completely disappeared, she’d grown out her pigtails into a long red ponytail, and she was down one eye, and she looked damn good, in her opinion.

Her spears were better too. Longer, sharper, stronger. She could shatter boulders with them, which she did so often that she was worried she was going to run out of boulders. And she never missed a throw either, even when she threw the boulders into the air to give herself a moving target.

But some things never changed. She still couldn’t hit Asgore, no matter how many hours they dueled. He never hit her back either, even though he would cast spells and summon his trident now. She suspected he was avoiding letting his shots land on purpose, but whenever she called him on it and he apologized, he still kept just barely missing her - he was as bad a liar as he was at naming things.

This time, though, as she fought him in the throne room, he wasn’t attacking her. He was drinking tea, out of a golden cup shaped like a lion. No matter how much he dodged, no matter where she swung from, no matter how many spears she shot at him, she had never seen him spill a drop.

If she didn’t know Asgore better by now, she’d really have suspected he was making fun of her.

“Are you thirsty?” he asked, offering the cup to her.

“The only thing I’m thirsty for is VICTORY!” she said, slamming the butt of her spear into the ground. She wiped some sweat off her brow. “…Although, uh, I could also use a drink.”

Gently, she took the tiny cup out of his paw. She didn’t know how he could drink it, really, with how much his paws dwarfed the thing. She looked down at the contents of the cup and sniffed.

“…Ugh. It’s this stuff. I don’t know why you like this so much.”

“It’s an acquired taste,” Asgore replied, stroking his beard. “It’s been a few years since you last had it, you know.”

“And I told you never to give me it again!”

Asgore chuckled. “And, if I remember, I challenged you to defeat me, and if you did, I would never offer it to you another time.”

“Ugh, I forgot about that…”

“Well, needless to say…”

“Hey,” she said, crossing her arms. “Don’t rub it in.”

She took the cup, staring down at it. The brown liquid seemed to stare back, as if it was possessed by an angry ghost.

Wincing, she raised the cup to her mouth and, in one gulp, swallowed the contents. It was still hot, hot enough that it would have burned anyone else, but she had a higher tolerance for pain than she did for disgusting, disgusting drinks.

But… strangely, it tasted fine. It tasted good even. It had a strong, very bitter flavor, but deep down, you could taste the sweetness of it. It made for a contrast unlike anything Undyne had ever tasted before.

“…Hey, this isn’t bad.”

Asgore’s smile widened.

“What’s it made out of?”

“Why, the flowers all around you,” he said, motioning his arm toward the golden flowers that filled every corner of the throne room. “As a result, I call it… Golden Flower Tea.”

“That’s, uh, very creative, Asgore.”

“Why, thank you.”

“Could you show me how to make it?”

If Asgore seemed pleased before, he was practically beaming now. “Absolutely! Let’s take a break for a short while and retire to my kitchen. I can show you the right way to brew it… I even have some extra flowers prepared you can take home with you.”

* * *

Undyne knew there was only one way she was going to defeat Asgore. She wasn’t going to use any tricks. She wasn’t going to fake being hurt, or catch him off guard when he was talking, or surprise him with a sneak attack when he was distracted like she’d done when she was a kid. She was going to beat him fair and square, with a real, unambiguous strike that’d prove once for all that she was strong. That she had real strength, the kind you couldn’t measure in muscles.

And, finally, one day, Asgore finally slipped. She was pushing herself harder than ever, throwing spears at him by the dozens, leaving barely any room for him to dodge. Spears erupted from the floor seconds after he landed, forcing him into a careful dance of maneuvering around the maze of blue portals. But, still, he dodged.

Until she tried something else. Instead of throwing her spear, instead of forming her portals, she ran straight at him, her gray armor gleaming. There was practically a glint in her right eye as she bent into a crouch and, like a spring, rocketed off the ground, higher and higher, flying past purple robes and the Delta Rune, a glowing blue spear the width and length of her muscular, armored forearm formed n one hand.

“NNNNNGGAAAAAAHHHHHHH!” she screamed before bringing the spear down on top of his head.

And, for the first time ever, it connected. The spear shattered instantly, into a million blue pieces that hovered in the air for just a moment before falling towards the ground and disappearing.

As Undyne landed on the ground, Asgore stumbled backwards. Like a boulder hanging over the edge of a cliff, he shook unsteadily, trying to maintain his balance, before he suddenly fell backwards with a mighty crash, shaking the throne room and sending a shower of golden flowers throughout the room.

Undyne cringed. She suddenly felt like she’d pushed over her grandpa or something else that’d be awful to do to the elderly. But, unexpectedly, Asgore started to laugh.

He stood up and beamed at her, and she took off her helmet and grinned back, the widest grin she’d ever given anybody in her entire life.

Raising her fists to her mouth, she started to spin around before throwing her hands in the air, shaking her fists at the ceiling.

“Oh my god,” Undyne said to nobody. “Oh my god, oh my god, I did it! I did it!”

“Congratulations, Undyne. I always knew you would.”

* * *

“WHY DIDN’T YOU GO WITH ASGORE ON VACATION? THAT SOUNDS LIKE FUN!”

Undyne, covered from head to toe in red goop, looked up from the tomatoes she was smashing at Payprus, who grinned his usual grin at her.

“What?”

“KING ASGORE’S FUN SURPRISE VACATION! SANS TOLD ME ALL ABOUT IT. I’M HAPPY FOR ASGORE! HE DESERVES IT AFTER WORKING SO HARD, I THINK!”

Undyne gave him a puzzled look. Asgore’s vacation? What was he talking about? It was her job as a royal guard to protect Asgore… surely she’d have heard of something like that?

And a vacation did sound like fun. She could use one herself, after… everything. She opened her mouth to ask “what vacation?”, but Papyrus interrupted her before she could speak.

“AND THE HUMAN HAS LEFT TOO! WHAT A SHAME. I’M GOING TO MISS THEM DEARLY! DO YOU THINK THEY WENT ON VACATION WITH ASGORE? HOW NICE!”

Undyne didn’t have a heart, but something in her went cold.

The human was gone. They’d crossed the barrier. There was only one way they could possibly, possibly do that. And Asgore was gone too. On ‘vacation.’

Undyne suddenly felt dizzy. She felt sick. Almost without thinking, she moved out of Papyrus’ kitchen to sit down on the couch, collapsing into it.

The human had _killed him._

That  _selfish brat._

And she’d thought, she’d thought that just maybe, maybe, possibly, Papyrus had been right. The human had killed the other royal guards, but they’d spared Papyrus and they’d spared her. They’d even given her water when she’d collapsed in Hotland. They were strange, hard to understand, but maybe they weren’t a complete monster. 

For a murderer.

“UNDYNE?” Papyrus asked, peering out from the kitchen.

Undyne shook her head rapidly, trying to shake off the shock. Papyrus looked, as much as he ever could, concerned. It was in his body language, his hunched shoulders, the way he was just barely peeking out from the doorway.

Taking a deep breath, Undyne shot him a grin.

“Yeah, vacation, right!” she said. “I can’t believe I forgot. Duh.”

* * *

As the days went on, Undyne felt the numbness more than the rage, although she certainly felt both. There was something like a giant weight placed on her back, and it was only her unceasing, righteous anger and Alphys’ continued support that allowed her to keep getting up in the morning.

 _Someone_ had to fight for the monsters now. It might as well be her.

* * *

Undyne bent low to the ground, on one knee. In front of her was a Whimsun, nervous as always. More than usual, if anything.

In the Whimsun’s hands was a purple cushion. Resting on top of the cushion was a crown, shining and golden. Behind the Whimsun, filling every part of Snowdin, dozens of monsters stared back. The ones that were left. Papyrus alone stood at her side.

Undyne’s gray armor, no matter how much it had been shined and polished to a mirror sheen exactly for this moment, didn’t seem to glow very much today.

Another Whimsun moved to lower the crown onto her head, but she stood up before they could. Her long red ponytail, caught in some invisible wind, flowed behind her.

“No,” she said. “No more crowns.”

The Whimsuns cowered. The monsters looked to each other, whispering. Papyrus looked, as much as he ever did or could, confused.

“Once, King Asgore told me that he preferred never to fight at all. He told me that the real strength of a monster wasn’t in the power of their SOUL, but in the power of their heart. That true courage was what drove them to get up every day and fight for the hope of all monsters. And I believed him.”

Undyne formed a spear. She slammed the butt of it against the ground.

“Well, he was wrong! We don’t need Kings or Queens, who stand back and wait for humans to come to them, or hide away from us all while allowing humans to pass by them and slaughter us! We need true strength! We need monsters to unify together, to fight like never before, so that we may take back our home!”

There was a short pause before the monsters broke into a mighty, single roar.

“We need someone to lead us, someone who will take the wishes in all our hearts, all our hopes and dreams, and fight to make them real!” Undyne shouted. “We need an Empress!”

The monster’s roars became louder, deafening.

But Undyne didn’t smile at them. She didn’t revel in their cheers. She only looked at the crown and knew, deep in her heart, that this wasn’t what he would have wanted.

But it was too late for that now. Because, deep down, she knew one more thing - that if she’d just had the strength to do this a long time ago, he would still be alive.

**Author's Note:**

> If you're curious, the title is a pun on gotterdamerung (which is German for twilight of the gods) and vater (which means father). So it means, roughly, "Twilight of the Father."
> 
> ...although, originally, I called it "Yet Another Fanfic About Teacups," which also fits it pretty well.


End file.
